Sleepy Cas
by cuddleclown
Summary: Post-Season 8 finale. Castiel has to make it own his own until Dean can come and save him. Features Dean babying him.


Castiel watched them all fall from the sky; his brothers and sisters, plummeting towards the earth at terminal velocity. He could hear faint screams inside of his head, the last part of his grace lingering. But then it was silent and he honestly couldn't tell if it was because his grace was gone or if all of the angels had hit the ground. Frankly, he wasn't sure which one he would have preferred.

Unable to stand, he attempted to lie on his back and look up at the night sky; only to jolt back up moments later, feeling even sicker. Oftentimes when he left the Winchesters he would zap himself to a nearby lake or forest clearing and look at the sky. He would know that even if his wings hurt, or even if Dean was angry at him, somewhere up there in the large black expanse there was somebody watching him. And even if the angels were known for being a bit…eccentric, they were still his family. But looking up now, the blackness was an infinite nothing.

He felt something in his eye and attempted to swipe it out with his finger, but all that came away was water. Castiel recognized it as a tear, a single, human tear. Because he was human now. He began to silently weep for his lost grace, for the war that he had singlehandedly started and then lost, for the God that he was sure was out there, even if every other angel had lost hope years previously.

His mind began to wander back to the Winchesters (as it often did), and he realized that Sam and Dean could be in trouble with Crowley. He reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out the tiny phone that Dean made him carry at all times "just in case" that he had bought Castiel during a Walmart trip. As the dial tone began, Castiel also realized that while he knew exactly where the two brothers were, he had no idea where he was.

It took Dean slightly longer to pick up the phone than usual. Sam must have been in trouble, otherwise Dean would answer the phone the second he realized the ringtone he had set for Castiel's phone was going off. Dean had set it to "Angel" by Aerosmith, and Castiel knew hearing it go off made Dean smile internally. He supposed Dean would have to change the ringtone now that Castiel was a human. Was there a rock song from the 1980's called "Depressed Ex-Angel of the Lord"? He didn't think there was, but reminded himself to look up potential new ringtones.

"Cas, what the hell. Why were there giant angel meteors falling from the freaking sky?" Dean barked into the phone. "Dean" was all Castiel could whimper out before falling back into a self loathing pile of tears. "Cas, come on buddy", Dean's voice was softer this time. "Metatron took my grace and banished all the angels from Heaven" he managed to respond between gulps of air. There was a sigh from the other end of the call that made Cas wish he had never called Dean. "Are you safe, at least?" Dean asked. Castiel composed himself enough to respond without sounding like a six year old. "I do not know where I am, but I am physically safe, yes." Dean then asked Cas to describe his surroundings. "I am in the middle of a small town with a convenience store in front of me, a hotel to the left of me, and a 'Carl's Doughnuts' donut shop to the right of me. They spelled 'donut' the way you hate, too." Dean sounded amused that Cas remembered how he hated spelling donut with a 'g'. Dean took him to go to the motel and check in with the cash that he had given Castiel earlier, and call him periodically throughout the night just to check in. Before the call ended, Castiel could hear a, "okay, mom!" coming from Sam in the background, followed by hysterical laughter and the sound of Dean punching Sam.

He walked into the hotel where a young man was behind the counter. "I would like to stay here for the night." Castiel told the man. He handed over a wad of cash to the man, giving a small smile in the hopes that the worker would accept the money. He hoped he had enough, he had given all of Dean's money to the man, and Dean always had enough money for motels. Castiel hoped the rate of a hotel would not be much greater than that of a motel. If the man asked for more, he could give him the supply of money Castiel had stowed away for food procurement. The man actually counted all of the bills, making Castiel sweat slightly. Luckily, the motel was cheap and the man gave Castiel a few of the bills back. He handed a clean small piece of plastic; akin to a credit card, and told Castiel his room number.

As Castiel walked back to his room he noticed there was a small computer room. Remembering he had to research a new ringtone for Dean, he got on the computer and began to look up 80's rock songs that reminded Castiel of himself. Eventually Dean called him, angrily wanting to know why Castiel hadn't called him. Castiel admitted that he had assumed Dean would have gone to bed, and didn't want to wake him up. Dean's voice softened slightly, reassuring Castiel that he would stay up all night if Cas needed him. Castiel knew he meant it, too. Dean told him that Sam had figured out where Castiel was, and that they were on their way to get him. Castiel told Dean that he had attempted to find a song that Dean could use as a new ringtone instead of Angel, but was unable to find one. Dean responded angrily, saying that he would go to the ends of the Earth to get Cas' "angel mojo" back, and that he wasn't going to change the ringtone because Cas was still an Angel of the Lord in everyone's books. Dean's voice quieted again after the rant, telling Cas to promise to call him later. Castiel agreed, and ended up surfing the web looking up cute animal videos on Youtube. He stayed that way until he could smell cinnamon wafting from the dining room.

He got breakfast and saw the familiar black Impala pull up and park in the parking lot. Forgetting his cinnamon bun he ran towards Dean, failing to remember than Dean hated outward shows of emotion, and wrapped his arms around Dean. He buried his head into the crook of Dean's neck, tilting his head so his eyes were covered by Dean's hair. He gripped Dean tightly, staying that way until he regained the composure to let go. As he attempted to unwind his arms, he realized that Dean had reciprocated the hug. One hand was wrapped protectively around Castiel's lower back, and the other snaking around his upper back, with his right hand in Castiel's hair. Dean let go moments after he realized Castiel knew he didn't completely hate the hug, and Castiel saw Sam eating his discarded cinnamon bun, annoyed at the display of affection. Or, as Dean would call it, "helping out a scared angel".

The trio got into the Impala, Sam choosing to ride in the back while Castiel took his spot riding shotgun, holding Dean's right hand tightly with his left. Sam could totally see the small grin on Dean's face when Castiel grasped his hand, too. They drove towards Arizona, where Dean had gotten a call hours previously from Balthazar, asking to be rescued at some point. He did, however, stress that he had landed within a mile of a strip club, and didn't need immediate rescue. As Sam researched in the back and Dean got that glazed look in his eyes that said he was currently a million miles inside of his own head, Castiel began to feel a weird sensation. He didn't know how to describe it, it was just weird. The car was warm, and the ride was just bumpy enough to be soothing, and he wasn't sure what was going on. As his eyes began to droop, Dean began to realize that Castiel was about to fall asleep for the first time. And he'd be damned if that wasn't the cutest thing he had ever seen. Cas was like the sleepy kittens he had been watching on Youtube the night before. His head would begin to sway and then his eyes would close and then he would snap his head right side up before pretending nothing was happening, although there was panic clearly written across his face. Dean would have squealed if he wasn't a full grown man. He pulled over at the nearest town and ran into Walmart, coming out with pillows and blankets. Sam gave him his usual bitchface before returning to his research. Castiel looked confused as Dean made him switch seats with Sam. He then realized that Castiel was in his trench coat, and there was no way his angel was going to sleep in a trench coat. He pulled out some of his own clothes and made Cas change clothes, which Cas was more than happy to oblige because his new set of clothes smelled like Dean and only added to the comfort level. Dean told Castiel to lie on the pillows, and then Dean proceeded to wrap Cas up in at least three different blankets before somehow managing to put a seatbelt on him. Dean would have made Sam play some music meant to help people fall asleep, but by the time he was in the driver's seat, Castiel was already asleep. He handed the keys to Sam before getting out of his seat and sitting in Sam's, a silent order for Sam to drive so that Dean could watch his angel sleep, just like Cas loved to watch Dean sleep.

Sam sighed before starting to drive. Dean was such a girl.


End file.
